European swimming experts have tipped Zimbabwean goldfish Kirsty Coventry to cause ripples at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, China, according to local media The Sunday Mail.
This comes as the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee has scaled up the country's preparations for the world's biggest sporting extravaganza which takes place from August 8-24 in the vast Far East country, the newspaper said.
Coventry, a backstroke swimmer, is already a triple Olympic medalist after sensationally swimming to a gold, silver and bronze medal at the last Games in Athens four years ago.
A collection of bets gathered from the main aquatics scribes stationed across Europe tallied in predicting the 2005 world champion would this time around grab not three, but four medals.
Africa's super eel is predicted to outpace the rest in the 200 meters backstroke but settle for second best against one of her main rivals on circuit, Natalie Coughlin of the United States, in the 100 meters version of the same event.
Instructively, Coventry is the only competitor from Africa the European experts, commissioned by the leading Len Magazine, the continent's official aquatics publication, predicted would win any accolade from the pool in China.
Besides the gold and silver the experts assuaged for Kirsty in the 200 meters and 100 meters backstroke, they also gave her silver in the 400 meters individual medley and further a bronze ornament in its shorter 200 meters version.
Coventry is expected to face off against Katie Hoff of the United States and European flag-bearer Alessia Filipi of Italy in the 400 meters.
The Italian also presents a challenge to Coventry in the 200m backstroke but African-descended Frenchwoman, Laure Manadou, is Europe's best hope in the 100m backstroke.
The Coventry-Manadou-Coughlin order of podium posture has become a common sight at swim meets across the globe and is expected to again take its sequence at the Beijing Games.
From motherland Africa, the experts only reckoned with Coventry and did not even consider the South African roller-coasting 4x100 meters freestyle relay team of Ronald Schoeman, Darian Townsend, Ryk Neethling and Lyndon Ferns, although they too pose a real threat.
The quartet won gold in the event at the Athens Games and has continued to dominate at subsequent international championships such as the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, Canada, and the Hamburg Championships in Germany the following year.
Zimbabwe's top swimming administrator, Kathy Lobb, who is an executive member of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, agrees Coventry can make a clean sweep.
"We are very hopeful of doing well in Beijing, particularly Kirsty. We hope she will get at least a couple of medals in her backstroke and 200 individual medley although the competition is obviously going to be very tough," Lobb, who is the president of the Zimbabwe Aquatics Union, acknowledged.
Only last month the 24-year-old Coventry smashed a 16-year world record in the 200m backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix in the United States. She then beat the African record when winning the 200 meters at the same competition. The former Dominican Convent pupil also clinched the 100m backstroke, Coughlin and Hoff being among the casualties.
But that was nothing compared to the International Swim Meet in Japan last August where she clinched four gold medals in the four events she participated in. Her haul at the All-Africa Games in Algeria was a staggering seven medals, all gold.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2008)